Sports Eye
Politics in PH cage five?
By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.
PHILIPPINES’ biggest sports news this week is about the backing out of some San Miguel Corp.’s core players in “Gilas Pilipinas” set to play in this year’s FIBA Asia Championship in Hunan, China from September 23 to October, a qualifying event for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
Led by the latest MVP June Mar Fajardo, L.A. Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar and our Pangasinan pride Pozorrubio born Marc Pingris. Pingris (after arriving from France where he visited his French father) showed up with the national pool members last August 15 and trained with them for an hour. But in a totally unexpected move, Pingris begged off from the pool telling Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin “there are some things beyond my control.” Of course, Baldwin was shocked and outraged by the Pingris cryptic statement, and as expected, Gilas fans were upset knowing that Pingris would be a big loss, being a powerful rebounder, good defender and consistent scorer. But four days later, the six-foot-five Pozorrubian reconsidered, and said he’s not leaving the squad after all. Well, that could be good news for Baldwin and the Gilas fans, but I guess it’s not enough to boost the squad.
Pingris’ three colleagues in the San Miguel outfit should also rethink their decisions like what Pingris did. I believe that with Fajardo, Tenorio and Aguilar in, our Gilas would have a bigger chance to win the last Asian Rio Olympic berth just as they did in FIBA Asia in Manila that catapulted them to the FIBA World Cup. Many say without the four, our contingent will never-ever bag the slot. Unfortunately the three are standing by their alibis for their pullout. Your guess is also my guess that someone is playing politics at the expense of our PH five. We know that the two dominant basketball conglomerates, SMB and Talk ‘N Text, are the perennial winners now in this basketball-crazy country. Yes, they’ve investing in the PBA and are enjoying gains from their wide exposure in media. But I cannot understand why they will not let their cagers play for Juan dela Cruz land. I suspect that it’s all about profit, no time for patriotism. This is idiocy and politics is obviously in the middle of it all. Anyway, let’s see how this plays out in the days ahead.
* * * *
I’m not an avid fan of golf and not on my top ten favorites. But I sometimes watch the game when it’s already on the final stretch, unlike my ten much-loved like cycling, boxing, basketball, running, table tennis, lawn tennis, volleyball, baseball, bowling and billiards that I try to watch from day one to the last day. But I was surprised to know on TV last Monday night that the new PGA champ in golf Jason Day is a Fil-Aussie hombre. Day’s mother named “Adenil “Dening” Grapilon is from the little know and bucolic town Carigara, Leyte, not really far from Tacloban City which was devastated by typhoon Yolanda in 20013 that killed Day’s grandmother, his uncle and six cousins. Day, 28, who lost his Irish-Australian father Alvin in 1999 due to cancer never talked about his ethnicity unless asked, and he publicly acknowledged his roots after winning the PGA, one of the most prestigious world golfing event, beating the three giants in this game world number one Jordan Spieth, number two Rory McIlroy and former world’s best Tiger Woods. But I was also surprised that despite being a half-Filipino, Day doesn’t know a word of single Filipino language and never set foot in Philippine soil. Anyway that’s his family’s prerogative. Day’s latest victory put him now the world third ranked best golfer behind Spieth and McIlroy. Yes, we have to be proud of him, as well as the Aussies and the Irish communities. Amen.
* * * *
(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
